Monday, March 3, 2008

An interesting recent past preservation controversy unfolding in Seattle has garnered national attention, including a piece on Newsweek.com. (You can also see photos of the building in the Newsweek article.) In a 6-3 decision that went against the recommendation of city staff, the Seattle Landmark Preservation Board recently declared a boarded-up former Denny’s restaurant, built in 1964, a landmark.While some are deriding the decision, others cheer the protection of what they call a distinctive example of the “Googie” style of architecture.

Why would a company nominate a building it intended to demolish for landmark designation, a designation that could prevent demolition?In this case, it was part of a corporate strategy: its expectation was that the nomination would be turned down, thus eliminating the possibility that an opponent of the development would later attempt to nominate the building and thus delay the project.

I’m not familiar with this particular building and can’t take a position as to whether it should be a landmark or not.This case does point out, however, that there is a great need to document and evaluate resources from the recent past, so that this kind of situation is less likely to develop.There are thousands of buildings in our region– not just of the recent past but of the more easily appreciated distant past – that qualify for landmark status and have not yet been evaluated or designated.Our Recent Past initiative is one way in which we’re looking to expand our understanding of these resources.

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While the writers of the Confessions of a Preservationist blog are on staff at The Landmark Society or affiliated organizations, or volunteers with The Landmark Society, their posts are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Landmark Society of Western New York.